The Croydon Monitoring Report Employment (Industry) January 2015

The Croydon Local Plan aims to give… Strong protection for the borough's stock of industrial/ warehousing premises

Indicator The amount of floor space in industrial/ warehousing use in Tiers 1 to 4 Locations identified in the Croydon Local Plan Target No net loss of floor space for industrial and warehousing activity across the 4 tiers. Greater flexibility in Tier 4 (Scattered Industrial Locations) will lead to loss of industrial/warehousing floor space. This should be offset by Tier 3 (town centre) additions, no net loss in Tier 2 (Integrated Industrial Locations) and by intensification in Tier 1 (Strategic and Separated Industrial Locations)

Where are the Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 Industrial Locations? Tier 1 Strategic and Separated Industrial Locations are the larger industrial areas in Croydon that are separated from neighbouring land uses Tier 2 Integrated Industrial Locations are older industrial estates that have built up alongside other land uses Tier 3 Town Centre Employment Locations are industry and warehousing sites and premises in the borough’s town centres Tier 4 Scattered Employment Locations are all the other industry and warehousing sites and premises in the borough not in Tiers 1, 2 or 3

Industrial and warehousing floor space in Tiers 1, 2 and 3 Tier 1 industrial locations have the majority (55%) of Class B floor space (covering Research & Development, Light & Heavy Industry and Warehousing) in the borough highlighting their importance Class B8 (Warehousing) is the predominant Class B use in Croydon making up over 65% of all Class B floor space The importance of scattered industrial locations is shown by the fact that they make up 30% of industrial floor space in the borough

Changes from 2011 to 2014 All four tiers of employment land saw a loss of floor space between 2011 and 2014 Overall in there was a 4% decline in the amount of employment floor space between 2011 and 2014 across all Tiers (with Tier 3 seeing the greatest retraction with a 16% reduction in space) A total of 32,500m 2 of industrial floor space was lost in this period with Tier 1 seeing the greatest loss with 18,550m 2 less floor space in 2014 compared to 2011

Vacancy rates in Tier 1 and 2 industrial locations from 2006 to 2014 Between 2006 and 2010 the amount of occupied Class B floor space decreased coinciding with the economic downturn There was a temporary recovery in 2011 and 2012 with occupancy increasing In 2014 vacancy levels are at their highest level of the period and the amount of occupied Class B floor space is now lower than at any other point since 2006

Class B uses on Tier 4 Scattered Employment Sites It is expected that over the lifetime of the Croydon Local Plan that some Tier 4 (Scattered Industrial) sites will be lost to other uses, in particular community uses. A full survey of all Tier 4 sites took place in 2014 and the results compared with the last full survey which was undertaken in 2010 Nearly 70% of Tier 4 sites are still in use in 2014 compared to 2010 However, 8% are still vacant after 4 years and over 20% of the sites existing in 2010 have been lost to a non-employment generating use

Land uses and vacancies in Tier 1 Strategic and Separated Industrial Locations

Marlpit Lane A strategic industrial location in Coulsdon

Marlpit Lane There are 42 industrial and warehousing units in the Marlpit Lane industrial area Of these 25 are in use as Class B8 warehousing premises making it the predominant use in the area Between 2013 and 2014 there was a net loss of five Class B unit as the result of the demolition of units to allow the development of a new distribution centre (a Class B8 use)

Marlpit Lane 6% of the Class B floor space in Marlpit Land is vacant This is lower than in 2013 when 8% of Class B floor space was vacant Overall there has been a net loss of 20,000m 2 of Class B floor space between 2013 and 2014 pending the completion of the new distribution centre currently under construction

Purley Way North A strategic industrial location in Waddon and Broad Green & Selhurst

Purley Way North There are 135 industrial and warehousing units in the Purley Way North industrial area making it the largest industrial estate in Croydon Of these 76 are in use as Class B8 warehousing premises making it the predominant use in the area Between 2013 and 2014 there was a net loss of two Class B units

Purley Way North 24% of the Class B floor space in the Purley Way North industrial area is vacant This is unchanged from 2013 Overall there has been a net loss of 4,600m 2 of Class B floor space between 2013 and 2014

Purley Way South A strategic industrial location in Waddon

Purley Way South There are 90 industrial and warehousing units in the Purley Way South industrial area Of these 49 are in use as Class B8 warehousing premises,15 are in use as Class B2 (heavy industry) and 11 are in use as Class B1c (light industry) making Purley Way South one of the more mixed industrial areas in the borough Between 2013 and 2014 there was a net increase of two Class B units

Purley Way South 20% of the Class B floor space in the Purley Way South industrial area is vacant There is less occupied and more vacant Class B floor space in 2014 than in 2013 This is slightly higher than in 2013 when 18% of Class B floor space was vacant

Selsdon Road A separated industrial location in South Croydon

Selsdon Road There are 28 industrial and warehousing units in the Selsdon Road making it the smallest Tier 1 industrial location in the borough 19 premises are in use as Class B8 warehousing units making it the predominant use in the area Selsdon Road is unique in Croydon as offices occupy more units than any other use

Selsdon Road There is no vacant industrial and warehousing floor space in Selsdon Road This is less than in 2012 when 1% of floor space was vacant Between 2013 and 2014 there was a net loss of three industrial and warehousing units

Vulcan Way A separated industrial location in Addington

Vulcan Way There are 61 industrial and warehousing units in Vulcan Way Of these 30 are in use as Class B1c or B2 industrial units making them, uniquely for a Tier 1 location in Croydon, the predominant use in the area Between 2013 and 2014 there was a net increase of one Class B unit

Vulcan Way 6% of the Class B floor space in Vulcan Way is vacant This is unchanged from 2013 Between 2013 and 2014 only one unit became vacant in Vulcan Way

Land uses and vacancies in Tier 2 Integrated Industrial Locations

Gloucester Road An integrated industrial location in Broad Green & Selhurst

Gloucester Road There are 91 industrial and warehousing units in Gloucester Road making it the largest integrated industrial location in Croydon Of these 40 are in use as Class B8 warehouses and 35 are in use as Class B1c or B2 industrial units making Gloucester Road one of the more mixed industrial areas in the borough Between 2013 and 2014 there was a net increase of one Class B unit

Gloucester Road 27% of the Class B floor space in Gloucester Road is vacant This is lower than in 2013 when 30% of Class B floor space was vacant There is more occupied and less vacant Class B floor space in 2014 than in 2013 This is largely due to a pending development opportunity

Thornton Road An integrated industrial location in Broad Green & Selhurst

Thornton Road There are 10 industrial and warehousing units in Thornton Road Of these only 5 are in use, all as Class B8 warehousing premises making it the predominant use in the area A third of all the units (7 in total) in Thornton Road are Class A1 (shops)

Thornton Road 37% of the Class B floor space in Thornton Road is vacant, the highest vacancy rate in the borough This is higher than in 2013 when 21% of Class B floor space was vacant Between 2013 and 2014 there was also a net loss of one Class B unit The 2013 Employment Land Review has recommended that the Tier 2 status of Thornton Road be reconsidered in light of its low level of Class B floor space

Union Road An integrated industrial location in Broad Green & Selhurst

Union Road There are 13 industrial and warehousing units in Union Road 5 of these units are in use as Class B8 warehousing units and 6 are in use as Class B2 heavy industrial units Between 2013 and 2014 there was a net loss of two Class B units

Union Road 7% of the Class B floor space in Union Road is vacant This is unchanged from 2013 (and also 2012) The 2013 Employment Land Review has recommended that the Tier 2 status of Union Road be reconsidered in light of its low level of Class B floor space

What does this mean for planning in Croydon? Croydon needs to protect industrial and warehousing land and premises to provide employment to residents of the borough In Tier 3 locations there has been a reduction in the amount of Class B floor space and in percentage terms more floor space has been lost in Tier 3 locations since 2011 than in any other type of industrial location There has been a increase in vacancy rates and an decrease in occupied Class B floor space in Tier 1 and Tier 2 industrial locations across the borough but… This is mostly due to the demolition of units in Marlpit Lane to make way for a new distribution centre (a Class B8 use) now being built The Mayor of London’s Planning Guidance on Land for Industry and Transport indicates that Croydon should be further restricting the release of Class B land and floor space beyond that envisaged when preparing the Croydon Local Plan: Strategic Policies The Croydon Local Plan: Strategic Policies has a policy that protects Tier 3 industrial locations that will need to be implemented to protect these sites Continued protection of Tier 4 industrial and warehousing land and premises is still required as over 20% of sites that existed in 2010 have been lost to a non- employment use A review of strategic policies may now be required to ensure continued protection of industrial and warehousing land

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